COMMERCE— The Texas A&M University-Commerce softball team will host Eastern New Mexico University in a three-game series over the weekend.
 
WHO: Texas A&M-Commerce (24-11, 9-6 LSC) vs. Eastern New Mexico (16-24, 9-9 LSC)
WHERE: John Cain Family Softball Complex in Commerce, Texas
WHEN: Friday, March 31 at 4 and 6 p.m., Saturday, April 1 at 1 p.m.
LIVE STATS: http://www.statbroadcast.com/events/statbroadcast.php?t=1&gid=tame
LIVE WEBCAST: http://portal.stretchinternet.com/tamucommerce/
TICKETS: http://lionathletics.com/sports/2016/12/13/2017-softball-ticket-information.aspx
 
The Lions are coming off of a busy week that included seven games in six days. A&M-Commerce lost two of their three games against Texas A&M-Kingsville and won three of their four games against Texas A&M-International, including both games in Laredo on Sunday.
 
"I was proud of the way we came back Sunday," said head coach Richie Bruister. "We got a great pitching performance from Katie Dean. The offense was tired. Their legs were tired. Mentally, they were drained after a long weekend. But they responded in a close ball game with a big win on that first one and then we came out and run ruled them in that second game. I was really proud of the way our team played to end the weekend."
 
After a week that included five home runs, 11 RBIs and 13 hits, Mariah Jameyson was named National Player of the Week by the NFCA. It was the first time an A&M-Commerce player has received the recognition.
 
"It's awesome," Bruister said. "I'm so proud of her with her work ethic and everything that she does and what she means to our program. It's hard. With over 240 softball teams with an average roster of 20 people, to be able to say you were the best in the country that week, you have to do something truly remarkable. I'm really proud of the NFCA for selecting her and recognizing her accomplishments from last week. She had a monster week and we are very excited for her."
 
The Lions will now host ENMU in a three-game series. The Greyhounds are 16-24 but have split their 18 conference games. Coach Bruister knows his team will face an opponent that will be well prepared and well coached.
 
"They are a much-improved team from last year," he said. "Coach Welborn has done a good job with them. We are going to have to play solid and we are going to have to get good pitching. It starts there in the circle. They keep us in the ball game and then it is up to our offense to score runs like we have been doing. We have been playing outstanding defense. If we do those three things, we have a good shot this weekend."
 
One of the players the Lions will face is Erikka Burke, the leading home run hitter in the conference. She has hit 12 home runs this season and leads the team in batting average, slugging percentage and RBIs. Bruister knows she is a key player to focus on.
 
"One of our philosophies is not to let their best player beat us," he said. "Hopefully we are in opportunities where we don't have to pitch to her or where we are giving her opportunities to score runs. Hopefully we keep people off the bases and we will be able to pitch to her and see what happens."
 
The Lions are entering the final month of the regular season and are midway through their conference schedule. The team is currently fifth in the conference but with a long way still to go, the Lions look to gain ground before the conference tournament in May.
 
"We got to win, plain and simple," Bruister said. "We lost some games that I felt like we shouldn't have. When you do that, you have to come out and win a whole lot of ball games. That's what we are poised to do. We are working hard to get that job done."